Georgia woman released under new survivor justice law

Freedom sounds like traffic, feels like fresh air, and looks like cars passing by for Nicole Boynton — a woman who spent 23 years behind bars for a crime committed when she was just 18 years old.

(CNN)- Freedom sounds like traffic, feels like fresh air, and looks like cars passing by for Nicole Boynton — a woman who spent 23 years behind bars for a crime committed when she was just 18 years old.

“Looking around and watching cars drive by, I was like wow, is this really real?” Boynton said after her release. “It didn’t feel real at first.”

Boynton was convicted of felony murder in 1999 after stabbing her boyfriend during a fight inside their Cobb County home. He later died, and under Georgia law at the time, judges had no discretion in sentencing.

“Nicole was convicted of felony murder, which carried an automatic life sentence,” said her attorney, Erin Edwards.

But decades later, a new law changed everything.

Georgia’s Survivor Justice Act allows judges to consider whether a person’s history of abuse played a significant role in the crime. Court records show Boynton endured years of physical and sexual abuse, beginning in childhood and continuing throughout her relationship.

“Nicole has done it. She’s the first person to have had a sentence vacated and be re-sentenced under the SJA,” Edwards said.

On January 5, a Cobb County judge vacated Boynton’s life sentence and resentenced her to time served, making her the first person released under the new law.

“When the judge told me she was vacating my sentence for time served, I just couldn’t do anything but cry and thank Jesus,” Boynton said.

Doug Ammar, executive director of the Georgia Justice Project, says the moment was historic.

“It’s really powerful to work on a bill, get it passed, get it signed, and then have it go into effect and someone walks out of prison all within the span of 12 months,” Ammar said.

Now 44 years old, Boynton has a job lined up and earned multiple certifications while incarcerated. She says her goal is to help other women who are still behind bars.